SUNY Morrisville adds agricultural science program

SUNY Morrisville has added a Bachelor of Technology degree in agricultural science to its program lineup. The new bachelor’s degree, which launches in Fall 2023, enables students to choose from four specialty tracks: dairy management, agronomy, livestock management, and agricultural outreach and education.

“Students can diversify their studies with the new degree, which offers a wide breadth of courses within agriculture, along with a set of core courses common across all four tracks,” Associate Professor of Agricultural Science Jennifer Gilbert Jenkins said.

The college’s existing dairy management B.tech. degree will be housed in the new bachelor’s degree under the dairy management track.

“It’s the same degree, now with more flexibility,” Associate Professor of Dairy Science Ashley Marshall said. “The dairy track maintains all of the core dairy courses that our dairy management B.tech. degree is known for, while allowing for a bit more flexibility in the program with some courses becoming electives. This gives students the opportunity to tailor their degree around their specific interests within the dairy and other agricultural industries.”

Graduates of the agricultural science bachelor’s degree are poised for a wide array of agricultural specialties, from employment in the agricultural service sector to on-farm management of dairy and other livestock species, or in the public sector as an agricultural educator.

“We are working with ag-industry leaders to provide a curriculum that prepares students with the skills necessary to jump into jobs the industry is having trouble filling,” Gilbert Jenkins said.

Each track culminates in a 15-credit internship that provides students with direct, hands-on experience in the field.

“This program is designed not only to ensure that graduates are well prepared to succeed within the vast agricultural industry, but also to prepare students who are interested in continuing their education at the graduate degree level,” Marshall said.

The college’s learn-by-doing approach is evidenced throughout the new degree, with students having the opportunity to apply the theory learned in lectures in a real-world setting at the college’s state-of-the-art facilities.

These include the Arnold R. Fisher Dairy Complex, where students will care for and work with many livestock species; the George A. Spader Horticulture Center, featuring greenhouses and a soils laboratory; Aquaculture Center, Agricultural & Clean Energy Technology Center, three-acre arboretum, a new dairy and specialty crops incubator, and hundreds of acres of farmland for pastures and field crops courses.

Also planned is a new cannabis and environmental testing lab.

“Given the current demand for graduates of our programs within the industry, I have no doubt that successful graduates of the agricultural science bachelor’s degree program will be sought after and have no trouble securing employment following graduation,” Marshall said.

To learn more about the agricultural science bachelor’s degree, visit www.morrisville. edu/program/agricultural-science-btech.

For more information about the agronomy and agricultural outreach and education tracks, please contact Jen Gilbert Jenkins at gilberjk@morrisville.edu or 315-684-6577.

For more information about the dairy management and livestock management tracks, contact Ashley Marshall at marshaae@morrisville.edu or 315-684-6743.

The new program comes on the heels of the college’s first-ever master’s degree in food & agribusiness.

That fully online, twoyear degree in food & agribusiness prepares professionals for careers throughout the food system, drawing from agricultural economics, food marketing, supply chain management, organizational management, econometrics, agriculture and food regulation, and more, all tailored to the special problems that food businesses face.

SUNY Morrisville’s curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.

For more information about SUNY Morrisville, visit www.morrisville.edu.

PHOTO PROVIDED A look at some cows.